A CARVING of what looks likes a snake’s head, the base of a column, quern stones and pieces of glass are among the finds uncovered this week at a Roman Fort in the North Pennines.

Volunteers working at Epiacum near Alston found the artefacts just days into a two-week project, dubbed Operation Jericho, to remove a Victorian field wall which cuts across the site.

The artefacts already uncovered have delighted landowner Elaine Edgar.

Elaine said: “We found a stone snake, and the archaeologists said they’re not sure what it is at this point.

“We’re going to be doing some analysis on it. Part of the project is to record what we find and investigate the things we don’t know about.

“We’re only a few days in, the volunteers are working really hard and doing a great job.

“It’s exceeding all our expectations, we’re finding a lot more than we thought we would.

“We’ve got 28 sections of wall to take down, and we’ve already got 15 down. Of course we have to document all our finds, but it’s going well.”

Donations can be made to help with the funding of Operation Jericho at www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/epiacum-heritage/operationjerico